Light Days
by Shiraume
Summary: BL. TezuFuji and various pairings. Series of drabbles and short ficlets. Humor. Ratings from PG to PG13, or K to T. Newly posted: A New Member for the Gardening Club! ? A Meeting of Kindred Spirits in Room 201!
1. Botanical OT3!

PG. YukiFujiTezu. Humor. 368 words. From the idea of botanical OT3 mentioned in helga-b's (livejournal) story, "Didn't It Rain?".

**Yukimura/Fuji/Tezuka, Botanical OT3!**

Yukimura looked skeptically at the fertilizer label, which promised 200-percent growth increase, and put it back. Where was the liquid fertilizer he had seen last week...ah. He automatically reached for it, and halted when his hand knocked into another person's.

"Ah, excuse me. Please go ahead," Yukimura said politely.

"Sorry. You can go first," the other said at the same time, just as politely.

"Tezuka?"

"Yukimura."

Before they could say anything more, someone behind them spoke. "Excuse me. May I please get that bottle?"

"Fuji," Tezuka said, recognizing the newcomer.

"Tezuka. Yukimura." Fuji smiled brightly. "Quite a pleasant surprise. What brings you two here?"

"Gardening supplies," Yukimura answered. "You?"

"Fertilizer," Fuji replied.

Tezuka nodded to Fuji. "The same."

"I didn't know you liked gardening." Fuji said mildly, presumably to both of them.

"A hobby, actually," Yukimura said. "I have a small garden of my own."

"I keep bonsai trees," Tezuka offered, "in my grandfather's garden."

Fuji nodded. "Tezuka already knows about my cacti." Tezuka nodded. "We got a couple different kinds of Echeveria recently. I was looking for a suitable fertilizer for them."

"Echeveria?" Yukimura was instantly intrigued. "You know, there is a small café right around the corner of this street..."

* * *

The three of them eventually ended up in Tezuka's house, looking over the sizable bonsai collection. After a short impromptu tour ("Is that a flowering quince?" "_That_ is a beautiful red pine."), Fuji and Yukimura were sipping their tea, watching Tezuka tend to his prized collection.

It was the way Tezuka handled those bonsai trees, Yukimura decided, watching the precise and delicate motions of those hands over the tiny branches. Fuji, for his part, decided it was the way Tezuka's hands caressed the elm leaves so tenderly. Their eyes met across the small table.

Tezuka, finally satisfied, stepped back and came to join them on the porch.

Yukimura and Fuji exchanged another look.

Tezuka gave them a quizzical look, and Yukimura smiled sweetly at him, and pounced. After a look of invitation in his direction, Fuji, being a good sport he was, joined them.

* * *

"So," Yukimura said, lifting his head from Tezuka's shoulder, "how many people would keel over if we started our own gardening society?"

_Fin_


	2. Sleeping Buchou & the Seven Regulars

PG. Gen. Humor. 214 words. Not related to the previous story.

**Sleeping Buchou and the Seven Regulars (Plus One)**

The air was tense with anticipation. Silent wills clashed, battling for upper hand. Tezuka watched intently, willing the other's hand to move just so --

Fuji's hand paused, then stopped. "Done," he announced cheerfully. Slowly, Fuji lifted the long, white piece of paper from the chalkboard, and there was an utter silence for a long moment.

"...Interesting," Inui drawled, pushing up his glasses.

"Erm," Kawamura said nervously. Fuji's smile sparkled brightly.

"...Fuji." Tezuka's glare was accusatory.

"We used ladders," Fuji said brightly. "Perfectly fair and square."

Momoshiro and Kikumaru coughed in unison. Fuji ignored them.

"At any rate," Fuji said with a winning smile. "We have the whole cast now. Let's get to work, everyone!"

_Two months later..._

During the autumn cultural festival, the stage production of _Sleeping Beauty_ by Seigaku boys' tennis club was nearly halted in the second act due to the loud catcalls and whistles from the audience the moment the Princess appeared. A fifteen-minute intermission was declared when the said Princess collapsed very realistically after drinking from the golden cup that she was warned NEVER EVER to touch.

Also, the school board banned leotards on school grounds, but some tennis club members took comfort in the fact nothing had been decreed against latex.

_The End, or a reasonable facsimile thereof._

**Cast, in Order of Appearance:**

King - Kaidoh  
Queen - Kawamura  
Three Fairies-in-Leotard - Kikumaru, Oishi, Fuji  
Evil Witch - Inui  
Sleeping Beauty - Tezuka  
Prince Charming - Ryoma  
Evil Dragon - Momoshiro


	3. Botanical OT3 Followup

In my reply to Fightingdreamer5 and Insanatrix's comments, I'd given the link for the Botanical OT3 follow-up drabbles. After going back to look at it, I realized -- silly me -- it was a friend-locked entry. Not to mention it's on someone else's LiveJournal.

So, with Helga's generous permission, I've reposted the follow-up in its entirety. Helga wrote the first two sections, and I wrote the latter two.

* * *

_G. YukiFujiTezu. Humor. 547 words total. Co-written with helga-b at LiveJournal. Follow-up for the Botanical OT3 ficlet._

**Botanical OT3, the Aftermath**

"Oh, us?" Fuji said cheerfully over his tea cup, looking at the unexpected guests. "We just came from the botanical garden. Our gardening society had a meeting there."

"Gardening society? You're in a gardening society?" Kikumaru sounded incredulous.

Momoshiro looked just as incredulous. "The Captain, Fuji-sempai and Yukimura-san are in a gardening society. That's so..."

"Unexpected," Inui finished for him.

"Actually, I think the word he was looking for was _girly_," Echizen said, looking boredly out the window.

Fuji's eyes snapped open and Yukimura turned to Echizen, eyes narrow and a dangerous smile on his face. "You think it's girly," he said, "until you find out about the _extreme_ gardening."

Echizen just gave him a boredly appraising look, and then shrugged.

"Well, I think it's a good thing," Oishi said. "We've all been very stressed lately, and gardening is supposed to be very relaxing."

Tezuka spit out his tea, and everyone turned to him in surprise. "Not in _this_ society," he muttered pointedly.

Yukimura and Fuji looked pleased.

* * *

"So if we changed the name to the Gardening Club and reminded everyone what an exceptionally educational, useful and all-around wonderful hobby it teaches us, do you think we could get funding for it from our schools if we asked real nicely?" Yukimura asked thoughtfully one day. 

"Hmm," Fuji said, tapping a finger to his lips just as thoughtfully, "it does such do a wonderful job promoting inter-school unity too, doesn't it?" and Tezuka, whose first reaction had only been the urge to roll his eyes in exasperation, realised with a sudden feeling of dread that the two of them were looking for all the world as if they were actually seriously pondering the question.

* * *

"Gardening Club?" Tokiwa-sensei, the student organization advisor, sounded skeptical. "The school already has a gardening club." 

"It's a new _interschool_ club." Fuji's winsome smile was practically sparkling with sincerity. "We found it promotes interschool camaraderie."

With considerable effort, Tezuka managed to not choke. Tokiwa-sensei frowned, still not entirely convinced. "You're in this too, Tezuka-kun?"

Fuji turned his beatific smile on him, and Tezuka, after two full seconds, answered, "Yes."

Tokiwa-sensei turned her eyes back to the proposal. Oh well, if the Seigaku's student body president was also in this club, maybe it was worth a shot. "Alright. It shouldn't take more than a couple weeks to get the approval."

Tezuka firmly resisted the urge to rub his temples. But then Fuji smiled at him, and he mentally shrugged. There were worse things in the world.

* * *

Sanada's eyebrow twitched faintly. Yukimura, for his part, looked vindicated. Behind them, the student organization advisor looked dazed, his eyes glassy. As soon as the door slid closed, Sanada turned to Yukimura. 

"Interschool Gardening Club?"

"Mm-hmm," Yukimura nodded happily.

"With what, a total of three members?" Sanada was turning into an interesting shade of puce as he valiantly fought to keep at bay the unfortunate images burned into his mind the last time he accidentally interrupted one of the 'gardening society' meetings. "What do you need the funding for?"

Yukimura's eyes held a slightly unnerving gleam. "Oh, we're thinking about...branching out."

Sanada was tempted to ask exactly what he meant by that, but thought better of it. The less he knew about what those three were planning, the better.

_The End...or TBC?_


	4. Paperwork

PG-13. TezuFuji. Future/Alternate Universe. Humor. 496 words. There is context, which I'm too lazy to write out.

**Paperwork**

Ryoma listened patiently while Fuji explained his plan. After Fuji finished, he was quiet for a moment.

"Tezuka-san's not going to like this, you know," Ryoma said thoughtfully. "He won't agree."

"Well, then." A smile spread on Fuji's face. "I'll just have to convince him now, won't I?" Ryoma raised an eyebrow in challenge. Fuji's eyes glittered. "He'll leave my office having agreed. Thirty minutes, tops."

"Thirty? I thought it'd be twenty at most. Getting slow in your old age there, Fuji-senpai?"

"Twenty minutes." Fuji's lips pressed tighter in the smile. "You're on."

"A month's worth paperwork," Ryoma countered. Fuji's answering smile was bright and sharp as a knife.

"Deal."

* * *

"Come in, Tezuka." The door opened and Tezuka walked in, closing the door behind him, and Fuji pushed off from the desk. "Well. I think you already know my plan," Fuji said after a short moment of silence. 

Tezuka nodded. "I also know your mind is difficult to change once it's made up."

Fuji smirked. "Is that your professional opinion?"

"I know you," Tezuka said evenly with a subtle arch of the brows.

"Quite well, in both literal and Biblical sense," Fuji replied, his voice a near-purr. They still had good sixteen minutes left. No point wasting it. Tezuka stepped closer and held him, nipping at the side of Fuji's throat. Fuji hummed and tilted his head to the side, inviting. "I'm going to miss you," he murmured, and made a soft sound of pleasure, feeling Tezuka nibble on the juncture of his neck and shoulder. Ten minutes.

"Is something wrong with the clock, Fuji?" Tezuka said in his low, vibrating voice, right next to the shell of his ear, and Fuji's knees nearly buckled.

"Nnn, no. Why?" His voice held just a hint of a moan, which nicely covered up the surprise.

"That's the third time you glanced at it." Tezuka's tongue flicked over the ear, and Fuji groaned. Six minutes.

"I think we said all we needed to," Fuji said with a genuine regret in his voice, pulling away. "You need to go."

"Not just yet," Tezuka's voice rumbled, then Fuji found himself unceremoniously picked up and placed on the desk. The look in Tezuka's eyes made his breath catch, and Fuji parted his lips with a heated sigh as Tezuka kissed him.

"Really, what brought this on?" Fuji closed his eyes, thoroughly enjoying the caresses and kisses Tezuka was lavishing on him. "Not that I'm complaining..." he whispered breathlessly. Tezuka first bit then sucked on his sensitive throat for a good measure, probably leaving a sizable mark, then straightened.

"Later," Tezuka promised, eyes still dark, and Fuji swallowed dryly. One last kiss, and Tezuka turned to go, pausing briefly at the threshold. "By the way, Fuji." Fuji looked at him quizzically. "I'll inform Echizen you owe him a month's paperwork."

Fuji stared at Tezuka in shock. "You..."

"Twenty-three minutes," Tezuka added over his shoulder, voice infuriatingly devoid of smugness, and closed the door.

_Fin_


	5. Who Was Echizen Ryouma's Boyfriend?

Crackfic. G. Ryouma, Kevin, and Tezuka, oh my! 1,625 words. Co-written with ladycrysiana (livejournal). Mildly OOC.

**Who Was Echizen Ryouma's Boyfriend?**

Ryouma tended to be the one of them to ignore the reporters, which meant it was up to Kevin to speak in English or French or, in one memorable case, some bastardization of Portuguese and explain how they valued their strong opponents and thank you all, yes, wasn't that move impressive, but he had nothing but admiration for the people they'd played against really. Yes, wasn't his Japanese partner taciturn, hahaha, sure they could try to ask him questions.

He would have resented it if Ryouma didn't smirk at the reporters and make him wonder what Ryouma would say if they ever DID corner him. Not that they didn't, after he played singles, but that was different somehow. And he still didn't say much. According to the mags, it made the girls go crazy. Not that Ryouma really tended to pay attention to THAT sort of thing anyway.

Once, a reporter had cornered Ryouma and asked him how they'd become partners. Ryouma had shone with innocence. "My boyfriend in Japan dumped me," he said. "And Kevin took me in. I was only twelve at the time...you know how these things are. And Kevin and I just sort of clicked." There had been a moment of silence, and then sort of stunned laughter. The article had just said that Mr. Echizen was his regular enigmatic self.

"I can't believe you get away with saying that," Kevin had said later. He was flipping through channels in their hotel room. "If _I_ said that, it'd be all over the papers and I would get hate mail for calling you gay."

Ryouma, who was somewhat busy toweling his hair dry, had shrugged. "Tezuka-san will hear about it anyway. He's like that."

"...you're really weird, Echizen."

* * *

Tezuka was used to having Inui report random things to him over phone, e-mail, fax, text message, and anything Inui could possibly get ahold of. After six years of being teammates, he was hardly ever surprised by the kind of news Inui relayed to him. When he saw this particular e-mail, however, he raised an eyebrow.

So Tezuka did the unthinkable: he called Ryouma on the phone.

"Oh, it's you," Ryouma answered. "How many people DID Inui-san tell?

"How many do you think?" Tezuka asked dryly. "Did you really tell the reporters that?" _And mean it_, Tezuka added mentally; this was Ryouma, after all.

Ryouma shrugged, though it couldn't be seen over the phone. "You can ask Kevin what sorts of things I say to reporters. I probably said something like Inui-san said, unless he's kept up his habit of exaggerating things. And don't lecture me; you can't any longer and besides, Fuji was already scary at me."

Tezuka's eyebrow twitched faintly at that. "I didn't call you to lecture you. Though, you seem to have an interestingly selective memory when it comes to your boyfriend." He paused for effect. "_Boyfriends_, even." According to Inui's e-mail, the current number was four and counting.

Kevin picked up the line. "What he DIDN'T say was that Atobe called this morning. At four."

Tezuka felt a migraine coming along. The phone beeped, and he gritted his teeth, guessing who it was. "Hold on a moment. I have a call waiting." As soon as he pressed the button to switch, Oishi's frantic voice filled his ear.

"I got a call from Momo this morning. He was really upset because Echizen accused Momo of being unfaithful and breaking his heart, when in truth it was Atobe cheating on Momo with Echizen." To Tezuka's relief, Oishi paused to take a breath. "What's going on?"

Tezuka considered his options for all of three seconds, and did the brave thing: "I'll call you back later," Tezuka told Oishi, and hung up. Tezuka suppressed an urge to sigh, and spoke into the receiver again. "Exactly what did Fuji say to you?" Going back to the first base. The rest could wait. For the rest of his life, if possible.

"I got the _impression_ that he thought that someone between you, me, and him, was cheating on someone else." Ryouma was starting to sound irritated. This was getting odder as it went. He could probably have blamed Inui at first, but clearly, the problem now was that everyone he knew was insane.

"You were a busy twelve-year-old," Kevin remarked. _He_, on the other hand, sounded vastly amused.

"What," Tezuka asked, massaging his temple with his free hand, "exactly did you do?" And he added as an afterthought, "And what did Atobe say?"

"I have _no idea_ what anyone else is talking about," Ryouma admitted. "I think I had...five or six boyfriends at last count. Sort of surprising for ME, since I've had...uh, two." Ryouma wasn't looking nervously in the direction of the other phone at ALL.

"Those being the people he dated rather than slept with," Kevin put in cheerily.

"Kevin? GET OFF THE PHONE."

"And Atobe was _great_ to listen to. Something about Momoshiro and misunderstandings and leaving his life in a ruin," Kevin added. "I was half asleep, but his voice carries."

Tezuka nodded, even though he knew Ryouma couldn't see it. So Atobe and Momoshiro, check - not that he kept tabs on romantic lives of his teammates, but around Inui one tended to hear things - so what was the status with Fuji, then?

And how was he supposed to ask this...delicately?

"Echizen." He could, of course, chicken out and go talk to Fuji instead. But with Ryouma, at least he'd get straight answers. Probably. "Who were you referring to as your 'boyfriend'?"

"...take it up with Fuji," Ryouma said after a moment of silence that was perhaps a bit too long.

"...really?" Kevin's blink was audible over the phone. "It WASN'T Tezuka? ...no offense, Tezuka."

Briefly Tezuka wondered if the silence meant Ryouma was actually embarrassed about this (lottery winners did exist in life), or there was yet another boyfriend lurking in the ellipses somewhere, then dismissed the thought. He'd clearly been listening to Inui too much. "I see."

Talking about Fuji...and then it hit him.

"Echizen," Tezuka said very carefully. "Did you think to explain that incident to Fuji?" The incident in question involved Tezuka, Ryouma, a broom closet and a broken lock, and a - best not go there. But Tezuka had no doubt Ryouma would know which incident was in question here.

"He wasn't really listening at that point." Ryouma crossed his arms. "I thought I'd explained it though." Ryouma paused. "...that would make a lot of things make sense, though."

"I've never been so glad to have an OCEAN between us and most of your friends," Kevin said, somewhat waspishly, at this point. _He_ hadn't heard about this incident. Or the boyfriend thing, really, though he'd guessed it was Fuji, since prying personal crap out of Ryouma was a task that required impossible patience and finesse.

Tezuka carefully balanced the cradle on his shoulder so he could rub both temples. "It would have been beneficial, yes." He studiously ignored Kevin Smith's remark; he had more important things to concentrate on right now. "Was that really why you left?" Tezuka had liked it when Fuji and Ryouma were dating, damn it, why did they have to break up?

It didn't help his mood any that Fuji, deprived of his usual choice of victim...er, warming-up partner, turned to _him_ after Ryouma left.

"...what? Of course not." Ryouma started to pace. At least the phone was cordless and allowed him to pace without choking himself. "I left because I wanted to see what I could do by myself. It wasn't that I didn't have anywhere to go where I was...but after everyone was separated, it wouldn't have been the same anyway."

Kevin leaned against the couch and listened. You didn't get to hear Ryouma talk like THAT often. Maybe he should make sure they spent more time with Tezuka to keep Ryouma honest.

Tezuka _twitched_. Ryouma couldn't have explained that to Fuji before leaving, could he? After Ryouma left, Fuji had "cheered himself up" from his heartbreak by amusing himself with his teammates for the better part of the following year, until Tezuka, finally fed up, had Atobe set Fuji up with Oshitari. The plan worked, much to his relief. For three weeks, anyway.

"It was a good decision for your tennis," Tezuka replied. "But you should probably talk to Fuji in the near future. He was...upset for a while." To say the least. Tezuka hoped Ryouma wouldn't be surprised when the ex-Fudomine and ex-Rokkaku players started calling him in the next week or so, but Ryouma probably knew what to expect, anyway.

"I'll talk to him, then," Ryouma said reluctantly. This was going to be a pain, and Fuji was going to be _sarcastic_ at him. And then Kevin would be annoyed at him for all of it happening in the first place. Ryouma resolved to blame Inui for it all.

"Just to check, none of the people likely to be _really_ upset about this has easy transportation for an ocean hop, do they?" Kevin asked. "...other than Atobe."

There was a pause. "...you're asking me?" Ryouma said after a moment. "...I don't _think_ anyone else could get over here that quickly."

"Good. Also: dinner is ready and getting COLD."

Tezuka wondered if he should mention Fuji dating Sakaki, who, it was rumored, owned a jet or three, but cringed at the thought. There was only so much that a man's mind could take in one morning. Besides, Ryouma ran faster than Tezuka did. "All right. Take care, then."

"Right. Talk to you whenever. If Inui calls you AGAIN, tell him to stop spreading this stuff."

"I wouldn't bet on him listening, but I will. Good night, Echizen."

_Finis_

**A/N:** There is another TeniPuri fanfic project I'm preparing, and I doubt I will have time to work on this series in the near future. Please consider this project closed; if there is to be updates, it will be very few and far in between.

I hope all of you had fun with this series - I know I certainly did. Thank you, all!


	6. Poolside

Rated G. Somewhat fluffy gen -- and maybe a hint of TezuFuji if you look closer. 593 words. Please note I have totally given up on grammar as of late.

**Poolside**

Tezuka was not scowling.

If it was too loud, crowded, and hot in here, well, that was just how indoor pools were supposed to be. Even if his mouth _did_ have a slight upturned look, that was just the expression his face habitually took when he was not thinking, and had nothing to do with having to reread the same sentence fifteen times amidst the high pitched shrieks from the girls twenty feet away.

Tezuka was most definitely not scowling.

"Tezuka." Tezuka counted full two seconds before he raised his eyes to Fuji's smiling face. "Are you sure you don't want to come in? The water's cool." Fuji's mouth quirked. "If you can find an empty spot."

Tezuka did not close his book. "It's fine."

"It'd have been a nice day at the beach, wouldn't it?" Fuji remarked, and sat down on an empty lounge chair next to Tezuka. "Shame we already had the tickets reserved for this place. I guess there's no helping the weather."

It had been raining for a whole week, so for their end of season outing, Oishi and Ryuzaki-sensei had reserved tickets for an indoor water park. It was just their luck the weather cleared up a day before their scheduled trip. For his part, Tezuka would have far preferred an actual beach. A real beach was quieter, for one, and smelled less like chlorine.

Although, the crowded indoor pools did stop Oishi from implementing the group bonding exercises he had originally planned for their beachside trip. He'd drawn the line at trust falls.

"Why don't you go join them?" Tezuka asked, indicating the rest of Seigaku Regulars engaged in a heated bout of splash war on the other side of the pool. Echizen and Momoshiro had teamed up against Kikumaru and Inui, and they were gaining the upper hand until Oishi joined the Inui-Kikumaru team.

"BUUUURNING!!" Tezuka stared -- when had Echizen snuck in a tennis racquet? -- at Kawamura brandishing a racquet, instantly clearing the crowd around him. Kaidoh, who sat perched on the edge of the pool, ducked just in time to avoid the swing, but lost his balance and fell headfirst into the water with a hiss.

Fuji smiled and gave a small shrug. "Watching can be fun, too." Momoshiro's laughter was loud and rambunctious as Kaidoh surfaced, sputtering, then Kaidoh's angry voice drowned out the laughter, and the splash war began anew.

"They won't kill each other, you know," Fuji commented, voice rich with amusement as both Momoshiro and Kaidoh went down in a splash of tangled limbs. Tezuka raised an eyebrow, closing his book.

"I didn't think they would," he said dryly. "Why don't you go and swim?" Earlier, he'd glimpsed Fuji gliding in the water, all unhurried grace and fluid movement even with twenty-something people blocking his path.

"Saa," Fuji leaned back on the chair, giving him a sidelong glance. "Maybe I prefer it here."

There was something unidentifiable in Fuji's voice that made Tezuka look at him. Another serve, a subtle change in the pattern of his play. Fuji looked back, eyes sparkling. "Why don't you?"

Tezuka looked away a moment later than was probably necessary. "Because I prefer it here." He could feel Fuji's eyes studying him, but did not look back.

After a long pause, Fuji turned away his gaze, back to his teammates, settling comfortably in his chair. "Aah."

Tezuka's book was untouched for the rest of their time at the park. On the bus home, Fuji said to him, "Next time, don't bring the book."

"Aah."

_Fin_

**Note: **So what I said about this project being closed? I LIED. There will be one more -- possibly two -- ficlet for this series, and probably more after Christmas, depending. In the meantime, _Et Cetera_ is eating up too much of my brainspace for me to work on anything else.

I usually don't say this, because I figure it's the reader's prerogative whether to comment or not, but -- I really do like receiving comments. Please do leave a review if you can, even just to say you hate what I did. Thanks!


	7. Practice

G. Gen with UST. Tezuka/Fuji. 101 words. Written for LJ TezukaFuji community event. **Warning:** long sentences!**  
**

**Practice**

Fuji always walks past him a little closer than necessary, just on the edge of invading his personal space. And Tezuka has to clench his hands, to keep them from twitching in an instinctive urge to push away, to pull closer.

Throughout practice, he feels Fuji's eyes on him, and when their eyes meet, the intensity nearly takes his breath away. As calmly as possible, Tezuka passes him by on the way out of the court, their hands almost brushing but not quite, and imagines, as he takes the next step, that Fuji's hands, loose at his side, twitch in response.

_Fin _


	8. Stranger Than Fiction

Rated PG. Mild humor/fluff with supernatural, and brief cross-over with _Yami no Matsuei_. 1,460 words.

**Stranger Than Fiction **

_Note: This has nothing to do with the movie. I just liked the title. XD _

When strange things started to happen, at first Syuusuke dismissed them. Sure, things generally did not move on their own, but stranger things happened.

But when he woke up to a pair of wide, black eyes staring down at him from the ceiling, he thought maybe it was time to reconsider.

Eventually, Syuusuke decided blinking isn't going to make the apparition disappear. While Syuusuke brushed his teeth and washed his face, the ghastly, semi-transparent shade floated around the bathroom, and Syuusuke could see the black eyes watching him curiously. After he gargled, he reached for the towel and wiped his mouth.

"Well. This is inconvenient," Syuusuke said to the mirror, and the reflection of the ghost blinked, and followed him downstairs. Yumiko looked up from the papers when he came to the dining room, and stared for a moment.

"There's a little boy-ghost floating on your left, Syuusuke," she informed him.

"I know. Can you make him go away?" Syuusuke asked, sitting down.

"I think you just hurt his feelings," Yumiko said, watching the ghost dart behind Syuusuke's chair. "I'm not sure. It might take a while. Do you want me to try?"

"Exorcisms will have to wait until _after_ breakfast," Yoshiko interrupted cheerfully, and laid a plate in front of Syuusuke.

Syuusuke thanked his mother and started on his breakfast. "I have morning practice today. Maybe later."

Yumiko nodded and went back to her papers. When Syuusuke got up, she looked up. "Want a ride?"

"No, thank you. Thanks for the food." Syuusuke picked up his tennis bag and left, the ghost trailing behind him.

"Have a nice day at school," Yumiko called after them.

* * *

Syuusuke had almost forgotten all about the ghost until the after-school practice. Tezuka gave him a strange look, and Syuusuke wondered if he'd dragged out toilet paper with his shoe, and was about to ask. 

Tezuka beat him to it. "Fuji. There is a ball bouncing next to you."

Fuji looked to his left. Sure enough, the boy-ghost was bouncing a tennis ball on the ground next to him. "Yeah, he seems to like the balls," Syuusuke remarked, watching the ghost bounce two, then three tennis balls.

"Who?"

"The ghost. Do you want the balls back?"

Tezuka hesitated for 0.4 seconds before answering, "Yes."

Syuusuke nodded amicably. By then, the ghost was on his fifth ball. "Can you put them back?" Syuusuke asked, and the ghost cocked his head. "Please?"

The ghost shrugged, and the bouncing balls dropped to the ground. "In the basket," Tezuka corrected. The ghost obligingly returned the balls to the basket.

"Thank you." Syuusuke turned his smile to Tezuka. "Rather well-behaved, isn't he?"

Tezuka gave a curt nod. "He can stay as long as he doesn't interrupt the practice." He added over his shoulder, "You're on C-Court with Kikumaru."

"I'll be right there."

* * *

Kaidoh jumped three feet in the air and landed on his rear end when the ghost tossed the ball right back at him. "I think he wants you to hit Boomerang Snake again," Syuusuke suggested from the adjacent court. "He seems to like it." 

Kaidoh turned white. "Who?"

"The ghost right next to you," Syuusuke clarified.

Kaidoh passed out.

Tezuka assigned both Syuusuke and the ghost twenty laps around the court. Syuusuke was oddly touched when the ghost obediently floated in step with him around the court twenty times.

"You shouldn't interrupt practice. Tezuka gets cranky," Syuusuke told the ghost while he changed. The ghost tilted his head in a way that somehow communicated understanding. "Good boy," Syuusuke said, and smiled when the ghost returned another stray ball to the basket.

* * *

Syuusuke wasn't in the habit of opening his eyes mid-kiss, but this time he couldn't help it. "What is it?" Tezuka asked. Syuusuke looked past Tezuka at the pair of ink-black eyes. 

"Sorry, but can you wait outside?"

The ink-black eyes blinked at him, but turned and went through the door.

"This is one thing I _don't_ want audiences for," Syuusuke said, and kissed Tezuka again.

Tezuka kissed him back.

* * *

"...There is a 35.7-percent possibility that an exorcism would be successful, with 6.2-percent margin of error both ways. The possibility of finding a capable onmyouji is --" 

"Thanks," Syuusuke said. "What's the probability of my getting disqualified in official tournaments because of this?"

Inui pushed up his glasses. "Less than 1.8-percent, unless the ghost starts floating balls in the court. There is nothing in the official rules against those who are possessed or have supernatural affiliation."

Syuusuke nodded. "Thank you."

* * *

"Say, why did you come to me anyway?" Syuusuke asked one day, in the middle of his literature homework. "Do you want me to pass on a message to someone? Play igo for you? Avenge your death?" 

The ghost blinked at him and said nothing. Syuusuke reached for his dictionary, but it was just out of his reach. "I mean, there must be some reason you chose me, right? Ah, thank you." Syuusuke took the dictionary floating just above his hand and flipped through it, making notes on the margin of his notebook.

"So _do_ you have a reason?" Syuusuke said, closing his dictionary.

The ghost shrugged.

Seconds ticked by.

"Get me the book on the bottom shelf - third one from the left?" The ghost floated over and fetched the book. "Thanks."

The ghost nodded and went back to watching Syuusuke do his homework.

* * *

"So, have you ever been haunted in the past? Or seen things from the spirit world?" Tsuzuki asked curiously. Syuusuke shook his head. 

"No. This is the first time."

Tsuzuki made a sympathetic noise. "Well, some people take a while before their first haunting."

Hisoka checked the box next to "First-time haunted" without looking up (Tsuzuki tended to become chatty and forget which boxes to check if he left it to him). "The thing is, I can't tell if Fuji-kun is sensitive to spirit world in general or not. His sister is, but..."

"Yeah, that was the first time a human just _saw_ us when we're invisible." Tsuzuki sounded impressed. Hisoka rolled his eyes.

"We'll run the case through the Enmacho database and let you know what we find," Hisoka said, finishing his notes. "In the meantime, would you like us to take this spirit into our custody?"

The ghost blinked at Syuusuke the way he found particularly cute, like a puppy or a kitten, and Syuusuke looked back at the two shinigami. "No, that's alright."

Tsuzuki and Hisoka exchanged a look. "If you're sure," Hisoka said.

"So, what's it like, working as shinigami?" Syuusuke asked, curiously. Hisoka seemed a bit unnerved when the ghost brought out cups and juice for them, but thanked it politely. "Do you work on cases all over Japan?"

"Ah, no. Two of us are assigned to Kyuushuu, actually. We're just filling in for Kanto because the shinigami in charge of the area are on vacation." Tsuzuki answered, holding his cup for the ghost to pour juice.

"You get vacations?" This was sounding more and more like a government job.

Tsuzuki looked very much like kicked puppy. "Not us. We're the most overworked team in the whole Enmacho."

"That's because you blew up the Okinawa branch training facility the other day." Hisoka pointed out, and took a sip from his cup. "And the library the week before."

"Hisokaaaaaaaaa."

"Is nee-san's raspberry pie from yesterday still in the fridge?" Syuusuke asked the ghost, who floated over to the refrigerator to check, then nodded. "Would you like a slice?" Syuusuke asked, amused by the sudden sparkling, puppy-eyed look on Tsuzuki's face.

"Yes, please!" Syuusuke smiled and got up, waving at the ghost to bring out the napkin and forks, and started cutting pie slices himself. From behind, he could hear hushed exclamation of, "Pie!!"

Hisoka shook his head. "You're hopeless."

* * *

"What's the matter with him today?" Eiji asked, watching a tennis ball roll on the ground in forlorn loops. 

"I think Yuu is upset because Kaidoh doesn't seem to like him very much." Syuusuke answered. "It's too bad. He's very fond of Boomerang Snake."

Eiji stared at him, wide-eyed. "You named it?"

"Sure. It's like having a puppy around." Syuusuke smiled at the ghost, who tilted his head at him cutely. "Besides, he's cute."

"A puppy that's invisible and picks up things for you." Eiji sounded envious. "I wish I had one like that."

The next day, Eiji came in looking harrowed, his hair in interesting shade of green. From the way Eiji was cursing at the floating broom next to him, Syuusuke rather thought Eiji might have changed his mind.

"Did you see my math textbook?" Syuusuke asked Yuu. The textbook floated over to his desk and landed neatly on the top of the notebook.

"Thanks."

_Fin  
_


	9. Botanical OT3: A Christmas WHAT?

PG for innuendo. Yukimura/Fuji/Tezuka. Humor. 187 words. In the same universe as the Botanical OT3. Written as a 2006 Christmas ficlet-on-a-card for helga_b (on livejournal).

* * *

"Yukimura," Tezuka said quietly. "_Stop_ that."

"What?" Yukimura replied innocently, all bright eyes and sweet smiles. Tezuka leveled a look at him, but went back to his task, intense look of concentration on his face. Fuji was biting his lip.

"A little lower..." Fuji breathed. "Ooooh, right there. Oh!"

Tezuka grimaced. "Fuji, hold still -"

"I can't! Tezuka, you have to do it now –-"

With a small sound of dismay, Fuji let go. Yukimura watched the glint of gold fly in an arc and land couple feet away from the two.

"I think you need longer wires, Tezuka," Yukimura remarked cheerfully. His amused voice was worse than an outright laughter, and Tezuka gritted his teeth in frustration, releasing the poor bonsai tree decked in red and green ribbons, with a little sparkling star on top.

Fuji flexed his fingers, sitting back to relieve his aching spine. There were various lengths of bonsai wires strewn on the floor around them. "Next time, Yukimura, we're not listening to you when you suggest the superflex wires."

"You do that," Yukimura answered lazily, and handed Tezuka a new coil.

_Fin!_


	10. Botanical OT3 Plus One!

Co-written with helga3 (FFN id: 375167 :: helga_b on livejournal) from 3/5/2011 – 3/10/2011. PG for implied adult situation. Yukimura/Fuji/Tezuka/Shiraishi - in the order of joining - with various variations and permutations therein. Humor. 830 words. More of the Botanical OT3...er, OT4 madness!

* * *

**A New Member for the Gardening Club! ? A Meeting of Kindred Spirits in Room 201!**

_Presented by:_

**_helga3 & Shiraume_**

"So just how many members does an interschool gardening club have anyway?" Shiraishi asked curiously.

"Currently, and including the two of us?" Fuji asked.

"Right."

"In that case, three," Fuji said proudly.

Shiraishi blinked. "Three," he repeated.

"One," Fuji said, pointing at Yukimura, who did a mock salute in response. "Two," he continued, smile widening as he pointed to himself.

Before he could go on, however, he was interrupted by a single voice rising over the din out in the hallway. "Momoshiro! Kaidoh! Anymore of that and there _will_be laps."

"And three, right on que," Fuji finished, gesturing grandly in the direction of the voice and beaming at Shiraishi.

"Tezuka?"

"Oh yes, Tezuka can do things with fertilizer like you wouldn't believe," Fuji said, nodding knowingly.

"Heh," Shiraishi said. "Sounds fun."

"_Like you wouldn't believe,_" Yukimura confirmed.

* * *

Tezuka had learned - both intentionally and inadvertently - the value of patience when dealing with the members of Interschool Gardening Club. He needed a great deal of it, after all, especially when he was in the same room with them.

Like now.

"So. To summarize, you want to invite Shiraishi Kuranosuke from Shitenhouji to join our club." Looking at the two pairs of expectant eyes watching him, Tezuka felt his eyebrow twitch. "Did you tell him why we only have three members in this club?"

"We thought we'd break him in slowly," Yukimura offered magnanimously.

"Besides, you should have seen the way he handles his wolfsbane," Fuji added helpfully. "I'm sure he'd catch on in no time."

Tezuka held back a sigh. Shiraishi would have to fend for himself; he had his hands full and besides, when Yukimura and Fuji wanted the same thing, it was best to stay out of their way until the dust settled. He still had bruises from their last excursion to a local gardening convention that stocked particularly exotic species.

"As long as you clean up afterward," Tezuka capitulated, and did sigh when both of them beamed at him.

"But of course," Yukimura purred. "Now, how does the Sunday after the Selection Camp sound for you?"

* * *

Tezuka put down his tray on the table and sat down on the bench next to Fuji. Across the table from them, Shiraishi nodded at him while listening to the story Yukimura was sharing with them.

"But the day Kirihara Akaya gets his hands anywhere near my gardening tools is the day pigs are flying to a skating party in hell," Yukimura was saying. "And that's not even getting started on my actual _plants_."

"A familiar sentiment," Shiraishi said, eyeing another table where his team's youngest member was now and then throwing handfuls of rice into the air and attempting to catch them all with his mouth on their way back down.

"Ah," Tezuka agreed, glancing in the direction of another table, where Echizen was chewing on his food while impassively watching Momoshiro and Fudomine's Kamio having a chopstick fight on the opposite side of the table. "Has Kirihara's been asking about your pruning shears again?" he asked Yukimura.

"_Yes,_" Yukimura said curtly.

"Anyway, I was invited to sit in on your next Gardening Club meeting." Shiraishi turned to Tezuka. "You don't mind?"

Tezuka was silent for a few heartbeats. "_I_don't mind," he said delicately.

Shiraishi didn't seem to notice the unspoken warning. "Then, please take care of me from now on," he said cheerfully, bowing slightly in Tezuka's direction. "_Sempai,"_he added, grinning.

"Oh, there's no need for that," Fuji said.

Shiraishi raised an eyebrow at him.

"We're very informal," Fuji said earnestly.

"Informal, I see," Shiraishi repeated, nodding in understanding. "Maybe I should take notes. Are you okay, Tezuka? You sounded like you were choking there," he added.

It was with mixed feelings of relief and dread that Tezuka suddenly found himself wondering whether Shiraishi might not feel right at home in this little group.

* * *

"You," Yukimura said fervently, "are a genius."

There was a muffled noise from Shiraishi which might have been assent.

Fuji gave a tired chuckle. "So I've been called."

"No, really. Next time, when you get an idea like this one, _you_," Yukimura raised his head just enough to direct a severe look at Tezuka, "are not allowed to object."

"There was an objection? Tezuka, I'm hurt."

At that juncture Tezuka would usually have ground out, "Fuji," or on occasion, "Yukimura." But the disconcerting realization came that the speaker's name was neither, and the moment passed. Vexing.

"It wasn't an actual objection," Fuji confided in a conspiratorial tone. "At least not after the first five minutes of the...meeting."

Shiraishi whistled. "I missed out."

It was almost disturbing, the way Yukimura and Fuji both turned to Shiraishi with an identical expression of unholy delight. But more disturbing still was the answering gleam in Shiraishi's eyes.

"We should make every effort to catch you up," Yukimura suggested.

"In fact, no time like the present to start," Fuji agreed.

Tezuka just closed his eyes with a groan.

_NEVER END_


End file.
